Sorry if this has been asked before, but why is it necessary for callers to dial a "1" before the area code and number to reach my Vonage phone? We have 10-digit dialing here in Dallas (multiple local area codes) but landlines don't require a "1" before the number?

Why does Vonage? Any way to change that and lose the "1+?" It's cumbersome and annoying to have to give out dialing instructions every time you give out a phone number.

are you sure you have a Dallas number? if ppl are dialing you 11 digits, then they are likely incurring Long Distance charges.. just becuase you have the area code that Dallas has numbers in doesn't mean that your exchange is local to Dallas.. This happens more often with larger area codes that cover a large area, but has happened in cases like your's before...

or else, maybe your exchange is too new and the other exchanges haven't been updated to accept that number as local 10-digits yet, there have been reports of that here in the past..

Vonage is VERY unclear about where their numbers are located, they seem to think that the area code is all that matters, they don't advertise the local city exchanges very well, and almost daily there are posts here with ppl liek yourself saying that there number is only dial'able with 11 digits, and then they come here saying their freinds have huge LD bills now, and they come to find out that the number they have with Vonage is from a different city.. Vonage needs to get their act together where this is concerned and list number's and cities better on their web site..

and enter your state, area code, and then local exchange to check to see where the phone companies think your exchange located. That may give you a clue as to why people need eleven digits to reach you.

Thanks for the tips. My area code is pretty much everything outside Dallas' outer loop and encompasses 23 municipalities. When I signed up for the service, my area code only turned up around four towns, none of which I'd ever heard of.

Clearly, Vonage is missing something but at least now I know that one-plus isn't a standard Vonage "feature."

Dabones, I couldn't agree more, especially after going through the hassle of trying to get Vonage to set things right. Do these people actually comprehend what you're saying to them or do they just read generic scripts based on general subjects? Geez.

Their last response via email:

We understand from your email that callers have to dial 1 before dialing your Vonage phone number.

We do offer a special feature called V-Access which allows callers to call you for a local charge. V-Access enables Non-Vonage customers to make calls to any Vonage phone number or 800 numbers and be charged for a local call, even when calling Internationally or Long-Distance.

Huh?

I finally called Customer Care again and simply asked that my number be changed to a local area code and exchange. They agreed, but wanted to charge me ten bucks for changing the number. I told them that if they'd known what the heck they were doing when they signed me up I wouldn't be having this problem today, and that I shouldn't have to pay them to fix it.

They finally worked some kind of voodoo by adding a promotional (2 months free) second line with a proper area code and exchange and told me to just cancel the bad number within two months. I still have to pay taxes and tariffs on the second line, though.

What a pain it is to deal with these people... every experience I've had with them, including signing up, has been frustrating and annoying. I probably have three hours involved in this one issue so far.

I was pretty impressed at how nicely they rolled out this product, but if they don't streamline their processes and start being more effective with their customer interactions, all they'll manage to do is sell Voip to the masses, then send us all looking for competent service with other vendors.